A Healthy, Happy Thanksgiving

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”

If you are in pain, especially around the holidays, it can hold you back from contributing. Pain keeps you from joining in fun activities. Pain makes you feel isolated, kept company only by daily aching reminders.

It’s ok. It’s natural. And you are not alone. 

To do well for others, you must first do well by yourself. So this holiday season, Miracle Stretch® encourages health first. Make yourself a priority, take a little personal time to relax, meditate, listen to beautiful music, take in the sunset...help yourself feel better so you can spread cheer and happiness to others.

Give yourself time to stretch and take care of your body. If the body is healthy and pain-free, the mind is far more positive—and patient. And that is especially helpful when conversations turn to controversial subject matters over the family dinner table.

Here is a list of simple, yet essential reasons to be grateful, brought to you by tinybuddha.com:

1. Your family – for being your closest kin in the world.

2. Your friends – for being your companions in life.

3. Love – for letting you feel what it means to truly be alive.

4. Sense of taste – for letting you savor the sweetness of fruits, the saltiness of
     seawater, the sourness of pickles, the bitterness of bitter gourd, and the spiciness
     of chili.

5. Your speech – for giving you the outlet to express yourself.

6. Your heart – for pumping blood to all the parts of your body every second since
     you were born; for giving you the ability to feel.

7. Your mind – for the ability to think, to store memories, and to create new
     solutions.

8. Happiness – for you to soak in the beauty of life.

9. The Sun – for bringing in light and beauty to this world.

10. Your good health – for enabling you to do what you want to do and for what you’re about to do in the future.

When you suffer through pain, you may find yourself to be quite grateful for the little things. When you conquer your pain and rekindle good health, you empathize with those who are suffering, and that perspective tends to lead to a more grateful outlook.

And what better time to be full of thanks?

Happy Thanksgiving,

Your friends at Miracle Stretch®.

The Holiday Stretch

Ok. So maybe you can’t fight City Hall.

And sometimes it is increasingly difficult to fight the Holiday rush.

But you can.

And you will.

That’s right.  Halloween is over, so Christmas is tomorrow, right?  At least it feels like it.

The peace of the season’s greetings is what we desire. However, retail displays pop up earlier and earlier, on top of family obligations, it can be challenging to realize the joy.

Americans know the holidays can be a time of commercialism and purchasing, and many are fine with that aspect. However, when Black Friday takes an uninvited seat at the Thanksgiving table, enough is enough.

This is because the stress level just went up, the term “Holiday Stress” is now as common as “Happy Holidays.”

Yes, there is pushback on Black Friday and Thanksgiving shopping hours, and that’s a good thing. A tipping point has been reached in regards to the “Christmas Creep.” (In fact, “Christmas Creep” would make a great Halloween costume.)

So find ways to de-stress. No, it’s not easy, but it’s as important as that gift list you’re stressing over.

For yourself and others. Work on it. Why?

Stress is contagious.
Stress burdens.
Stress damages both the mental and physical self.
Stress is a major contributor to low back and buttocks pain.

At Miracle Stretch®, one of our primary goals is to alleviate stress through a simple, yet essential stretching exercise. The Piri-Stretcher® just may give you the brief moments you need to put the holidays in perspective.

A simple, daily stretch not only calms the muscles and the sciatic nerve to relieve pain, but also soothes that mental “last nerve” that SOMEONE is on every time this year.

Taking a Miracle Stretch this time of year allows for you to breathe. It allows you to take 5 to 10 precious minutes to realize you will make it through this Holiday season, and feel even better by giving the gift of time to pause, stretch, and relax - to yourself.

Then you are less stressed. See how that works? You will be mentally and physically stronger this year due to a simple exercise tool essential for good health.

After you’ve enjoyed your Holiday Stretch, here are a few more tips on battling holiday stress courtesy of WebMD:

Be a Uni-Tasker: Even if you're a veteran multi-tasker, taking on too much at once can make you feel frenzied over time. So when you hit the next semi-enjoyable item on your to-do list—mixing up a batch of cookie dough, say, or stringing popcorn for the tree—drop everything else and focus your attention on the task at hand.

Focus on the Vision: Think about the three holiday traditions you love most, like lighting the Chanukah menorah or singing Christmas carols with your kids. Pencil those things in your calendar, and let go of the rest. "What stresses us out is that we don't take the time to say what we really want," says Linda Hedberg, a Minneapolis life coach who conducts workshops on making the holidays less stressful.

Take a Mistletoe Moment: Physical affection has been shown to increase your body's levels of oxytocin and dopamine, hormones that reduce stress, so grab your honey and start smooching.

Create your Own Calm: Decide on one word that describes the holiday season you want to have this year; it could be Peace, Joy, Love, Family or Serenity. Write it on an index card and tape it to your bathroom mirror. When things get hectic, a glance at your guiding word will remind you of what you really want—and make it easier to cut loose anything that’s distracting you from your goal.

Essential Tools & Inventions that Make Life Better!

Essential tools mark the passage of time and the establishment of civilizations. The creation of tools to help the health of mankind are one of our civilization's ultimate legacies.

Francis W. Parker, a school in Chicago, boasts a motto which sums up what is best believed about human nature and its usage of essential tools:

“Everything to help, and nothing to hinder.”

Mother Necessity leads to amazing innovations and inventions to help us lead safe, efficient, and productive lives. Everything we enjoy, ingest and share is dependent upon essential tools. Essential tools and instruments give us art, health, shelter, and sustenance.

What essential tools do you own?

It is such a simple question, and one that seemed too simple for even a blog—until you really think about it.

Consider some of the great moments in history and the mandatory tools that helped create them:

• That unique pen that allowed the Founding Fathers to sign the Declaration of Independence

• The first tool allowing humankind to bend and mold metals to create musical instruments, allowing the creation of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.  (Many of our readers say listening to Beethoven’s masterpiece is an essential tool to uplift their spirits.)

• Even the essential hockey stick used to score the winning goal in the 1980 Olympics’ Miracle on Ice!

It's often easy to take for granted, but when you take a moment to truly appreciate the tools that help allow every day to happen, it's quite astounding.

Let’s expand upon sports and essential tools developed out of necessity.

Humans needed to run for survival, so we developed protection for our feet and invented shoes. As civilization progressed, we created stronger, lighter, and more stylish shoes. Essential running shoes were developed for conditioning and sport. The likes of Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Saucony and New Balance were invented. Each one offers features, benefits, and solutions unique to our needs.

The same is true for exercise and stretching. Essential exercise tools make exercising easier, more productive, accurate, safer, and effective. Lifting a dumbbell is more accurate, easy, and safe, than say, lifting a pile of books. Using a treadmill makes it easy to keep track of speed, time, and distance. Using a jump rope with handles is much easier on our hands than frayed rope or everyday barn cord.

That is why Miracle Stretch® created the patented Piri-Stretcher® home therapy tool. The little piriformis muscle is a hard one to isolate, and when tight, it compresses the sciatic nerve, which results in low back, buttocks, and leg pain. The Piri-Stretcher® is designed for leverage, isolation, and control to help you gently relax the piriformis with an optimal, productive, and safe stretch.

Using an essential tool like the Piri-Stretcher®, there is no uncomfortable twisting, crunching, or worrying about whether you are doing it right. We make it simple. We make it reliable. We make it effective to combat your pain, and affordable so everyone can experience relief.

You simply just have to use the tool and relax into a focused stretch.

Every day we get thank you emails, comments and letters from folks who have used the Piri-Stretcher® to help alleviate their pain and discomfort completely. We love to read them.

Thank you, and please keep them coming!

It is a humbling and rewarding experience to know the Piri-Stretcher® is a positive, essential tool in the process of healing. And to hear how it has made a difference to help you get back to life’s greatest moments.

“Everything to help, and nothing to hinder.”

And with the right people and essential tools, we are just getting started! 

Hope Springs Eternal

“Hope springs eternal.”

Of course hope is very good to have, but it’s effectiveness increases exponentially when initiative or drive is applied to it.

Take the Chicago Cubs for example. It has been 107 years since the last World Series Championship.

107 years.

To put that in perspective, the last time the Cubs won the World Series, the Ship Titanic had yet to be completed, launched, and tragically sunk.(Like the many playoff attempts of the Chicago Cubs.)

But this year feels different. And please note: you do NOT need to be a Cubs fan to appreciate the amount of hope and excitement being felt in the hearts of CubsNation.

You don’t even have to be a baseball fan.

What we can all take away from this year’s Cubs season are many positives to apply to our own lives.

Do Not Accept Labels: The Cubs have been the “Loveable Losers” for generations. They are no longer accepting that moniker and are evolving the fans along with them on the journey of self-discovery. We can do the same. We all have bad habits but we are not condemned to them.  Those labels of “I’m too lazy to get up early to workout, or I could never learn a new language is an acceptance of failure without trying. That mentality is unacceptable.  So start your on fan base by creating something for YOU to cheer about. Even if you are the only member of the fan club. It will grow.

Next year is here: Change now. Yes, there is always next year, but why wait? Why not step up to the plate and make a small change in the right direction? Just make contact with the ball.  You don’t have to go undefeated, just string together some wins here and there and before you know it, you’re on a winning streak.

Why NOT you? Routine and comparing yourself to others are mental trappings. Avoid them. Being happy for others is always the right move, and it shows you are a good sport. But focus on your goals, your fundamentals, and before you know it, you are also a contender.

You’re always on deck, so keep your head in the game. It’s a long season. Pace yourself with reachable goals. “Experts” can predict outcomes on paper, but the game must still be played.  Be committed to yourself. Don’t be afraid to strike out swinging. You’ll be back up to bat soon enough. Give yourself motivation and do it daily if needed. Nothing wrong with making that voice inside your head a coach!

Trust in your team. There is a team around you. They are rooting for you and will pick you up when you need them. There is nothing like having support you can count on. Nothing. Remember those who are always cheering for you to succeed. At Miracle Stretch®, we love hearing about your successes!  We can’t wait to cheer you on! We are the ultimate bandwagon fans, we are always pulling for you to be pain free and back in the game of life.

Stretch.  There’s a 7^th inning stretch in every game. It will provide relief and perspective while allowing you to recover energy,

That’s when you will shock the world by winning.

It happens all the time. We call that the Miracle Stretch.

(See what we did there?)

“Play ball!”

"Please Pass the Epsom Salt!"

For generations folks have been using Epsom Salt.

Maybe you have yourself, or perhaps a relative, or a neighbor...if you haven't heard of this mineral, we're happy to pass along the scoop on a classic find!  So draw up a bath, pour some Epsom Salt in it, and let's dive in…or rather, let’s soak up some knowledge.

Epsom Salt is natural, effective and very affordable. No wonder we like it here at Miracle Stretch®.  It is almost limitless in practical uses and can turn out to save you from pain, expensive doctor visits and stress. (Again, no wonder this is popular at Miracle Stretch®. It’s like we are looking into a mirror of benefits.)

Epsom Salt can relieve pain and inflammation. According to the popular healthy lifestyle website Dr. Axe:

A warm bath containing Epsom salt is known to ease pain and relieve the inflammation at the root of most diseases, making it a beneficial natural treatment for bronchial asthma, sore muscles and headaches (including migraines). Epsom salt can also help heal cuts and reduce the swelling that accompanies sprains and bruises.

A classic remedy for any muscle or joint ache is a relaxing bath with Epsom salts. High in magnesium and sulfates, they are easily absorbed through the skin to provide quick relief and reduce inflammation. Add two cups of salts to warm bathwater and soak for at least twenty minutes. Alternatively, Epsom salts can be used in a compress to apply directly to the skin. Simply dilute two cups into one gallon of water. You can also try an Epsom salt with lavender, or other essential oils.

As a regular reader to this blog, you know how important we feel any reduction in inflammation is.  Epsom salts, along with targeted stretching using your Miracle Stretch® Piri-Stretcher®, can provide a powerful combination for relieving muscle pain, particularly that pesky tight piriformis muscle. (And its ensuing effects on the sciatic nerve!) Just a dash of Epsom salt soaking, a gentle and focused stretch, and your sore muscles can go from screaming to satisfied.

Popular life coach Dr. Oz is a big fan of using Epson salts as well. He recommends uses from reducing inflammation and stress to increasing circulation. 

It also makes quite an essential spa tool. You can use Epsom salts to relax the body and mind. Add a little calming music and candlelight, and you have a natural stress and pain reducing remedy.

Check out these additional benefits according to Dr. Oz:

      ·      Natural Hair Volumizer

      ·      Sunburn Relief

      ·      Chapped Lips

      ·      Bug Bites

      ·      At-home Pedicure

      ·      Facials

      ·      Splinter Removal

      ·      Poison Ivy Relief

      ·      Excellent exfoliator

      ·      Sleeping Aid (Relaxing Soak)

So please pass the Epsom Salt, add a dash of the Piri-Stretcher®, and let's get healing!

Do you have any Epsom Salt stories or special uses? We love hearing from you! Comment below or visit us at www.facebook.com/miraclestretch, or www.miraclestretch.com.

Myofascial Pain & Referred Pain: What the Heck are They, Really?

September is National Pain Awareness Month. So let’s talk about pain.

Let’s talk about Referred Pain and Myofascial Pain, in particular.

Referred Pain is when the body triggers pain to areas other than the affected.  Basically, you can originate physical stress in one area of your body, yet feel it in another.

Nice, right?

It goes hand-in-hand with Myofascial pain. One of Mother Nature’s least desired conditions.

Although the name may lead many to assume it affects only the face, that is misleading. It affects anywhere on the body. If you contract a muscle repeatedly, you may feel a knot, pain point, or tightness. The pain may involve a single muscle or even a grouping of muscles. And on top of that, pain can be 'referred' to another area.

According to the National Spine & Pain Center:

A tough connective tissue layer called fascia covers our muscles and spreads uninterrupted throughout our bodies. When injured, this tissue may tighten and contract putting painful pressure on nerves, muscles, bones, or organs. The area where the injury occurs is referred to as a trigger point. It may feel like a “knot” or “band” in the muscle. Often very sensitive to even light pressure, these trigger points typically generate pain not only at the site, but also in various other areas of the body (referred pain). You may experience symptoms that appear totally unrelated to the original injury.

There may be a feeling of tender pain points, muscle weakness, tightness, stiffness, or limited range of motion.

But good news: there are positive ways to deal with such a negative condition.

According to the Mayo Clinic:

Self-care measures to keep your body healthy may make it easier for you to concentrate on coping with your pain. Try to:
• Exercise. Gentle exercise can help you cope better with pain.
• Relax. If you're stressed and tense, you may experience more pain. Find ways to relax. Meditating, writing in a journal or talking with friends can all be helpful.
• Take care of your body. Eat a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables. Get enough sleep so that you wake rested. Take care of your body so that you can put your energy toward coping with your pain.

Three key points of interest: Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) tends to increase with age, it is more common in women, and with folks who lead sedentary lifestyles.

We as Americans hear more and more that a sedentary lifestyle is not only an unhealthy choice, but also many doctors have now compared the level of danger to that of smoking cigarettes!

That is why Miracle Stretch® is determined to help anyone, at any age, combat a sedentary lifestyle! We are determined to help you triumph over pain and get moving past it.

Now, we’re not saying you have to climb a mountain or enter a triathalon. (At least, not yet.) Just start at your own comfort level, and at your own pace. Miracle Stretch® will meet you where you are in life, and then help you move forward. Our most popular product, the Piri-Stretcher® is designed to help Myofascial pain in the low back, buttocks, and legs through isolating the piriformis muscle for a targeted stretch. We provide you the tool to get optimal leverage and ease to conquer the difficult to reach piriformis muscle. When this muscle is properly stretched, relaxed, and supple it reduces tension and helps provide lasting, natural relief. It is easy to use, extremely affordable, and has already helped thousands relieve their pain!

So lets team up and push back against pain, make it this month.

Take a moment. Take a stretch. For yourself.

Football, Pumpkin Spice and Ferris Bueller

It’s almost football and pumpkin spice season.

That’s right. Pumpkin Spice is now officially a season. We say this because it is proper to call each of these a season. They both mark a moment in the year when things change. 

Football season is anticipated, and to many, so is pumpkin-spiced…well, everything. However, don’t both seem to be so distant in July, yet already in our faces by mid-August??

Yes. Because as adults, time goes by way too fast.

Football and pumpkins, to adults, mean Fall. Or more to the point, that Summer is mentally over.  We are still going into drugstores on sunny 85-degree days for suntan lotion, or insect repellant, only to see aisles of holiday candies and decorations. Our brains jump to Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and thoughts of:

• Only HOW many shopping days until Christmas??
• Where are we spending Thanksgiving this year? Is everyone coming here?
• School events and fundraisers
• Extra extra extra early Black Friday sales
• Oh. And it’s election season.

All of these thoughts trigger stress. And as a regular reader of this blog, you are well aware that stress triggers mental and physical pain, often felt in our backs, where we carry so many of these “seasonal burdens.”

Why does change of season sometimes feel negative?  School children feel stress as well, but it is more a stress of “what’s new,” rather than “what else is new?”

The difference is when younger, life is measured more by what's new and fun, versus how many years have gone by. For a student, a new year means moving up into a new grade at school. A literal upgrade in life. What new perspectives and first impressions will each eager student gain? The adventure awaits!

So, what is your upgrade? Your new perspective? When’s the last time you made an important first impression? When we think life is going by too fast, it could be due to routine. And perhaps our quiet resentment of that fact. According to Psychology Today, the feeling is very common:

“…the best answer for this phenomenon is that the early years are full of first-time events - your first date, the birth of your first child, that first big vacation, etc. First occasions are novel events and we tend to make more detailed and lasting memories of those first times. When we repeat the event, year after year, it is less likely to make a unique or lasting impression...we can observe the same phenomenon in a shorter space of time. For instance, the first couple of days of your 2-week vacation seem long and leisurely, and the time goes slowly. You’re thankful that you have two long weeks of this. But, the next thing you know, it's almost over and you are heading home!”

Don’t worry. You can change this by simply changing little behaviors. Take time out for yourself. Put the changes in perspective. Give that revving mental to-do list a break. Just for a few minutes.

Change it up. Take a stretch. Save your back. Push away your stress.

You know we have your back at Miracle Stretch®. A simple daily use of our Piri-Stretcher® can help relieve pain. It doesn’t take long and is easy to do. And while your body stretches, so will your mind. Look at it as a positive change in your life. 

One of many.

So, this year take time to relax, spice it up, and enjoy the game!

P.S. If you need additional wisdom, enjoy this Ferris Bueller clip. Turns out he was right when he inspired all of us to improve our lives by simply changing our day...

https://youtu.be/91lJhEzMaH4